Venetian blind



,April'24, 1945 w. M. DUNN VENETIAN BLIND Filed Jan. 14, 1944 vINVENTOR. William M. Dunn BY FIG 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 24, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIAN BLIND IWilliam M. Dunn, San Bernardino, Calif. Application January 14, 1944,Serial No.'51s,47s 3- Claims. (o1. 160-471) This invention relates toimprovements in Venetian blinds. a V

It is the object of this invention. to produce a Venetian blind of animproved construction that is especially adapted to be made with metalslats, instead of the ordinary wooden slats.

Anotherobject of the invention is to produce a Venetian blind that shallbe very inconspicuous when in open position and which will also closetightly.

A further object of the invention is' to produce a Venetian blind ofsuch construction that'the openings usually provided in the slats forthe lifting cords can be entirely dispensed with.

Another object is to produce a Venetian, blind of such construction thatthe tilting cords can be made of round material, if desired, andin whichthe lifting cords can be of very small diameter so as to be practicallyinvisible when the blind is in full open position.

' A further object of this invention is to produce a Venetian blind ofsuch construction that the slats can readily be unhooked from thelifting cords along one edge to facilitate cleaning.

A further object of the invention is to produce a Venetian blindprovided-with an especially constructed hinge for efiecting a connectionbetween the slats and the tilting cords.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this descriptionproceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement ofparts that will now be described in detail, and for this purposereference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the inventionhas been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which: a

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the blind in open position;

Figure 2 is a section taken 1, and shows the open position of the blindin full lines and a partially collapsed position by broken Figure 5 is atop plan view of a hinged member;

'Figure 6 is a view showing the hinge member in place on a tilting cord;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view showing the on line 2-2, Figure.

hinge member assembly'of Figure 6 connected to one of the slats;

Figure 8 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 5, but shows thetilting cord directly opposite from that shown in Figure '7; and

Figure 9 is a view showing the position of the parts before the slatsare disconnected for cleaning. a

In the drawing reference numeral i0 designates a tilting board whoseends are provided with trunnions H.

These trunnions arejournalled in bearings in a bracket which has notbeen shown because the arrangement is old and well known. Referencenumerals I2 and I3 represent pulleys that are mounted on the supportingbrackets and about which the lifting cords l4 and i5 pass. Secured totheend of trunnion I I. is across piece It from the ends of which pullcords ll extend downwardly. The ends of the lifting cords l3 and It passthrough a clamping pulley of the usual type, which has been designatedby reference numeral it. At the bottom of the blind is a board orsimilar member it, which is somewhat heavier than the slats whichhavebeen designated by reference numeral 29. The slats-are :all the samesize and shape and in the present embodh ment they have been shown asmade from sheet metal. The edge of a slat along the right side I whenviewed as in Figures 2 and 9 is rolled downwardly and inwardly, asdesignated by reference numeral 2! in Figure 7. At spaced intervalsnotches 22 are provided in the rolled edges. The other edges of theslats are bent reverse-1y into U-shape as shown by reference numeral 23,in Figures 2 and 9. The ends of the slats are provided with notches itfor the reception of the lifting cords. It "will be observed fromFigures 3 and 3a that the metal on opposite sides of the notches 24 hasbeen onset in opposite directions for the purpose of providing as nearlyas p ossible, a straight path for the lifting cord when the blind is infolded or closed position as shown in Figures 3 and 3a. The liftingcords may be of. the usual construction and have their lower endssecured to the ends of the bottom slat I9 at points 25. For the purposeof supporting the slats and tilting them, a plurality of pairs oftilting cords like those designated by reference numerals 26 has beenprovided. The upper ends of the tilting cords are secured to the tiltingboard Ill at points 21 and the lower .ends are attached to the bottomboard is at points 28. For the purpose of eflecting a connection betweenthe slats and the tilting cords, the latter are provided with hingemembers which will now be described.

operatively I In the present embodiment the hinge members are formedfrom short pieces of wire which have been flattened so as to provide acentral flat portion 29 that is connected with the round trunnions 30 bymeans of the inclined surfaces 3|.

The blanks shown in Figure 4 are bent around a suitable mandrel into theshape'shown in Figure 5 in which the trunnions 38 extend axially and inopposite directions, Before the blank is moved to the position shown inFigure 5, it is positioned on a lifting cord and adjusted to the rightposition after which it is closed, whereupon the hinged member willbecome firmly attached to the tilting cord. The hinge members areconnected with the slats along the edge having the-roll 25 by firstopehingthe latter slightly at each side of the notch 22 and insertingthe trunnion's into the opening in the roll whereupon the material isthen pressed back into position.

This forms a hinge that has sumcient rotary movement to accommodateeither position of the slats and which is not detachable. Along theopposite side of the slats Where the material is bent into the U-shapediold 23 the hinge members are readily inserted, either by firstofisetting the "tilting cords as shown in Figure 9, or by merely bendingthem in a manner quite apparent. The U-shaped openings marked 23 neednot extend the entire length of the slat, but must be left in thatposition adjacent the notches 22, so as'to permit a ready detachment.The material between these U-shaped portions may be round, as indicatedby reference numeral 2i.

It will be apparent that with this constructhey can be positioned quiteclose together and to the'further fact that such plastic is strong, thetilting cords can be made of comparatively small diameter and since theyare also made from transparent material, they become practicallyinvisible." When-the blind is turned with the slats in horizontalposition, the blind becomes very inconspicuous when compared with theolder plane of any slat.- The means for tilting and for lifting andanchoring has been shown more or less diagrammatically as the meansshown is old and well known, with this exception that the lifting cordsare positioned at the ends of the blinds only instead of beingdistributed throughout their length in the usual manner.

Blinds constructed in the manner described and shown on the drawing aremore practical and -more attractive in their. finished form than theordinary blind.

Attention is directed in particular to the construction employed foreffecting a hinged con-- nectionbetweenthe slats and the tilting cordand to the fact that the slats can'readily be detached from the cords onone side for cleaning. When detached they will hang in overlappingposition andcannot be opened without first re-' attaching them, whichassures that they cannot be opened accidentally where a room isto be.

darkened for a considerable time. The slats can be made from anysuitable metal or alloy and also from fiber or plastic, and whenaluminum or other light weight metals or alloys are used, the blind willbe of light weight.

Havingdescribed the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a Venetian blind having a plurality of slats, and means forsupporting and tilting the slats comprising a plurality of pairs ofcords, the cords of each pair being positioned at transversely oppositepoints, means for effecting a a hinged connection between the cords andthe slats comprising hinge members secured to.,the cords, said membershaving a portion encircling the cords and a portion projecting laterallytherefrom, the lateral portion having oppositely extending trunnions,the slats having a notch corresponding to each cord, the sides of thenotches 410 having axially aligned openings for the reception of thetrunnions.

2. A venetian blind comprising, a plurality of slats,'means forsupporting the slats in spaced parallel relation, said means comprisinga plurality of pairs of combined supporting and tilting" 1 cords, thecords of each pair being positioned at constructions having the wideribbon lifting cords.

When the blind needs to be washed or cleaned, the parts are first movedinto the broken line position shown in Figure 2, which corresponds tothe position shown in Figure 9. When in this position the slats canreadily be detached from the lifting cords on one side and allowed tohang vertically as indicated at X in Figure 2. When in this positionthey can be readily brushed and it is also possible to clean them bymeans of a hose, where the blinds are so positioned that the'waterresulting from this method of cleaning will not be objectionable.

With this construction the slats canbe perfectly straight transverselyand the folds or rolls along the edges can be very.s'mall,'therebyreducing to a minimum the obstruction when viewed in the transverselyopposite points and means for effecting a pivotal connection betweeneach cord and the adjacent edge of the slat comprising a hinge memberhavingan intermediate portion thereof encircling the tilting cord andprovided with oppositely extending aligned trunnions, the slats havingnotches in their edges for tilting cords, the sides of the notcheshaving openings for the reception of the trunnions,

3. A venetian blind comprising a plurality of metal slats, each providedin its edges with oppositely positioned notches, the sides of thenotches having axially aligned openings, a plurality of tilting and slatsupporting cords ar-' ranged in-pairs, each pair being positioned onopposite sides of the slats, one at each of the oppositely positionednotches, and means for effecting a tilting connection between the slatsand the cords comprising a hinge member having one end provided with anopening through which a tilting cdrdextends, the otherend havingoppositely extending aligned trunnions for engaging in the openings inthe sides of a notch. I

noun.

